http://www.lamonitor.com/articles/2006/10/25/headline_news/news01.txt By CAROL A. CLARK lanews (at) lamonitor.com Monitor Senior Reporter October 26, 2006 Three computer jump drives confiscated by police on Oct. 17 during an arrest at 2025 East Jemez Road #250 are suspected of containing classified information. "We recognized that some of the items we seized under our search warrant were possibly property of the laboratory and turned it over to them for analysis and verification," Los Alamos Police Chief Wayne Torpy said. "Once the laboratory confirmed that this was a federal jurisdictional issue - the FBI was called in." The FBI responded to the case to the Monitor this morning. "Evidence obtained as a result of the police investigation was brought to our attention and from there probable cause lead to our obtaining a search warrant," FBI Special Agent Bill Elwell said. "We can't make any comments at this time because the court ordered sealing of the search warrant." Elwell did say there have been no charges filed or arrests made as of this morning. Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio said in a statement this morning that on Tuesday the FBI publicly confirmed its ongoing investigation of a potential breach of security by a former LANL subcontractor employee. "Unfortunately, my ability to discuss the details of this matter is constrained due to the nature of the situation," Anastasio said. "What I can say is that this is a serious matter and we are taking immediate steps to address it." Police report that Justin Stone, 20, of 2125 33rd St., was arrested at the mobile home on an outstanding warrant for a probation violation. He also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia after police discovered components of a possible meth lab in the home. Jessica Quintana, a woman in her early 20s, has resided in the mobile home for a couple of months and according to reports is in the process of purchasing it. Reports also indicate that Quintana was employed as a data entry clerk at Information Assets Management, a LANL subcontractor, before being laid off. She most recently worked for a two-week period at the YMCA before her suspension last Wednesday following Stone's arrest at her home, executive director Linda Daly said this morning, adding that Quintana was officially dismissed on Monday. Magistrate Court Judge Pat Casados sentenced Stone on Oct. 18 to two years in jail for violating his probation. She sentenced him to an additional six months for his Oct. 17 drug paraphernalia possession charge. Stone will serve those sentences concurrently, Casados said. Stone's initial probation violation stems from a July 14 arrest in which he was charged with possession of stolen property, possession of a stolen credit card and possession of drug paraphernalia, Casados said. She charged him on April 11 to 30 months of supervised probation that included community service and fee repayment. "His outstanding warrant included failure to report, failure to make monthly probation fees and failure to complete monthly community service hours," Casados said. Stone was initially arrested after Goldie, Sgt. Chuck Ney, Cpl. Jon Gonzales and Cpl. Doug Johnson responded to a 4:16 p.m. call from a neighbor alerting them to a loud argument taking place inside the home. "While making the arrest, we saw pipes and other paraphernalia," Goldie said. "We secured the premises and obtained a search warrant, then removed all the items." Goldie described the items, including glass drug pipes, jars, a digital scale, marijuana seeds, acetone, hydrogen peroxide and the propane and torches. There also was a processing filter packed with kitty litter and cotton found at the scene," he said at the time. "A lot of this was inside a backpack that was stuffed into a duffel bag," Goldie said. "This shows how compact and mobile meth labs can be." Police were extremely concerned with a number of chemical burns found inside the backpack along with broken beaker containers, which indicate a lack of caution in handling the volatile chemicals. "What's scary to me is there were families living within 30 feet of this dangerous stuff," Johnson said. Johnson praised Royal Crest Mobile Home managers for their efforts to remove people involved in drug activity from their park. "They have done a fantastic job and this incident is a holdout that we are glad we have identified and removed from the community." This is the third time in less than two weeks that the LAPD has removed a drug operation from the community. On Oct. 4, police responded to a report of shots fired and uncovered a stash of meth lab equipment, narcotics and weapons at 3483 Questa Drive. On Friday they removed 31 bags of marijuana, controlled substances and drug paraphernalia from 1027 Iris St. after following up on an anonymous tip. Anastasio stated in a press release this morning that in conjunction with the FBI, the lab began and will continue to pursue the facts surrounding the incident. "We have already taken a number of steps to address potential security risks," he said. "Some actions may have an impact on daily routines at the laboratory. We ask that everyone become an active participant in this process to assure a positive outcome." Anastasio reiterated how seriously he regards this matter as one of utmost concern and said as has been their management practice, they will take immediate and decisive action to address any safety and security issues. This morning Royal Crest Manager Steve Gianes addressed the heightened interest surrounding the home located in his park. "We're learning about all this from the news media just like everybody else," Gianes said. "We spoke with an FBI official here Monday night who did say that this wasn't something that would put anyone in any kind of danger." _________________________________ Visit the InfoSec News store! http://www.shopinfosecnews.org
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